


it's a love story

by ruzekhalstead



Series: luke & julie au collection [10]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Boys are alive, F/M, Hate to Love, M/M, Swearing, Wedding, bc that's my favourite type of fic, im sorry not sorry though, julie as maid of honour, julie yells at luke a lot, luke and reggie as best men, willie and alex are getting hitched
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27610817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ruzekhalstead/pseuds/ruzekhalstead
Summary: alex and willie are getting married, and it's up to their bridal party to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. julie, ever the perfectionist, is struggling to not commit homicide against luke. with disaster after disaster occurring, her patience is wearing extremely thin.willex wedding/julie maid of honour + luke/reggie best men au-"oh, is that where that dumbass is?"
Relationships: Alex & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina & Luke Patterson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Series: luke & julie au collection [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2202399
Comments: 40
Kudos: 322





	it's a love story

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone!!
> 
> here is my new julie/luke au, where they're actually sorta grown up!!!
> 
> but like also still acting like children obviously 
> 
> hope it's okay, enjoy :)

Julie had never been so stressed out in her life.

She honestly felt like this was worse than med school, and that was saying _something_.

About a year ago, she was asked by her childhood best friend to be the maid of honour in his wedding. It was an easy yes; she loved Alex with all her heart and adored his fiancé Willie. Alex and Julie were roommates all throughout university, plus Julie's medical school years. Now, Alex was planning to move out as soon as he got married.

It was the end of an era and Julie would be lying if she said it didn't bother her a little. Just a little bit. But it was time for Alex to move on with his life and Julie respected that. She just wished her own life could move on at the same pace.

If she was honest, her dating life had been very bland lately. She was the busiest she had ever been; with her internship and with wedding planning, she didn't have much time for dating. And it's not like she didn't want to, but she knew all about the stupidity of mankind.

And it came in the form of 1/2 of Alex's best men, Luke Patterson.

As longtime friends and bandmates, Alex was unable to choose between his fellow members of Sunset Curve, Luke and Reggie. Julie had zero issues with Reggie; he was one of the sweetest guys she had ever met, and his enthusiasm to plan this wedding made it so much easier on all of them (although, sometimes they had to put their foot down when it came to some of his ideas - ring _bear_? Hell no). Luke, on the other hand, solely created problems upon problems.

Tonight was the rehearsal dinner for Alex and Willie's wedding, and Luke and Julie were in charge of making sure everything went off without a hitch (Reggie's job was to keep the party alive and make sure everyone was having a good time). She was alright with that because she was a perfectionist, but what she wasn't alright with, was Luke who only cared about the open bar and hooking up with Willie's hot cousins.

Julie was at the front door, greeting guests as they came in. Luke was nowhere to be found, of course. Julie wasn't even sure if he was here in the first place.

"Jules!" The brunette whipped around at the sound of her name and was greeted by the sight of Alex and Willie, both dressed to the nines. "How's it going, babe?"

"Good," Julie smiled, gladly accepting the flute of champagne Willie handed her. "I think nearly everyone is here. We can get started soon."

Alex glanced over his shoulder to where everyone was taking their seats and enjoying appetizers. "We can probably pop over to check on things for the reception tomorrow. I think that's where Luke is."

"Oh, is that where that dumbass is?" Julie muttered under her breath. "Honestly, I haven't seen him since I got here."

"Easy tiger," Alex smirked, "I need my best man in one piece for tomorrow."

The three of them made their way to the ballroom next-door where their reception would be held the following day. The hall was decorated beautifully, and nearly everything was set up for the next day. Luke and Reggie were at the entrance, glaring at the seating chart display. They were each dressed in their own respective suits; Reggie completed his look with a burgundy bowtie and Julie had never seen him look so adorable.

"Guys, I think we have a problem," Luke said hesitantly, scratching the back of his shaggy hair.

Julie nearly fainted upon hearing those words. "What?" She snapped, quite literally pushing Luke out of the way. As soon as her eyes met the seating chair, all the blood drained from her face. "What the hell is this?"

"Uh — Jules?" Alex asked, staring at the display; he wasn't sure whether to laugh or panic. "Who the hell is Alan?"

Julie looked mortified. "Oh my god. That's supposed to say Alex. It's supposed to say Willie and _Alex_!" She cried hysterically. "Luke, what the fuck?"

Luke's eyes widened comically. "Excuse me — what? Why are you blaming me?"

"You were in charge of checking over the seating arrangement!" Julie yelled at him, resisting the urge to stomp her foot in distress. Reggie was trying and failing to hide his smirk.

Luke rolled his eyes incredulously. "Yeah. I checked over it, but I didn't make the damn sign!"

"Oh my god," Julie mumbled, on the verge of a panic attack.

Reggie placed a comforting hand in between her shoulder blades. "Hey, it's okay, Jules," he reassured her, "this is easily fixable. I'll call the planner right now. Don't stress."

Julie sent him a small, wavering smile. He left the room and Alex took his place in comforting Julie. "Jules, it's okay. These things happen, it's fine," he noted, "plus, I think it's kind of funny."

"I think it's hilarious," Willie added, pinching Julie's side to bring out a smile.

Julie appreciated their attempts to relax her, and it only made her realize, she was making this about herself when it wasn't. So, she put on a fake smile and joined them back at their rehearsal dinner. Reggie met them there, informing them that their wedding planner will be by shortly with a new (and correct) display. Julie directed the couple to go around and greet their guests before dinner.

As the couple walked away (Reggie disappearing as well because he spotted some eye candy), Julie snatched another glass of champagne off a tray. Luke did the same, a little less aggressively, and sent a polite smile to the waiter.

"I can't believe you messed that up," Julie muttered in annoyance.

Luke rolled his eyes, turning to face her. "Are we still on about this? It was not my fault!"

"You should've noticed sooner," Julie snapped.

"This place literally could burn down right now through no fault of my own, and you would still blame me," Luke nagged, his lip curling in dissatisfaction. "You've got to loosen up Julie, everything's fine."

Julie turned to glare at him. "Yeah, everything's fine because I've kept on top of everything! I haven't seen you do a single thing except drink and flirt with everything that breathes!"

Luke raised an eyebrow, amusement present on his face. "Oh, is that what is about?" He raised an eyebrow and Julie couldn't think of anything else except the fact she wanted to strangle him. "Don't be jealous, Jules. I can flirt with you too," he teased with a smirk.

"I'd rather choke on my own tongue, thanks."

Luke only sighed, deciding to hold his own tongue and instead take his seat at the table for dinner. Julie followed suit after a few minutes. She just wanted to check in with the designer and make sure everything on the other side was ready to go with absolutely no issues (because god knows Luke wouldn't do it).

When the staff began to hand out their meals, Julie's brows furrowed together. "Wait, this isn't what we decided on?"

Reggie choked on his drink, smirking wildly. "Oh, this should be good."

"Right — about that," Luke started, actively avoiding eye contact. "I may or may not have forgotten to finalize the rehearsal menu."

"You _what_?" Julie blurted, blinking at him dumbly.

Willie jumped in early, attempting to simmer Julie's fire before she exploded. "It's okay! This is fine. It's basically what we decided on anyway."

"It's not fine! God Luke, how could you forget something like this?"

In his defence, he did feel guilty, but Julie yelled at him was beginning to annoy him (but also, he low-key loved it?). "It's easy. It just slipped my mind and I forgot to speak with the kitchen staff. It's fine; it's not like we're left stranded without any food."

Alex chuckled, clapping his best friend on the shoulder. "Oh buddy, you should've just stopped talking five minutes ago."

"I'm going to kill him before this night is over," Julie mumbled under her breath. Only Alex heard and he snorted into his glass of wine.

On the bright side, the kitchen staff offered a variety of plates, depending on the guest's preference. It was actually very smart and it was the only thing that kept Julie from leaping across the table and strangling Luke with her small, albeit strong hands. It was only half an hour after dinner that Julie started to notice some guests disappearing. She thought it was weird, but later heard through the grapevine, they were in the bathroom throwing up.

Hearing of this news, she didn't particularly want to alarm Alex or Willie (who were currently running through a mock ceremony), so she fetched her only other option.

"Luke!" She hissed, marching her way over to him at (you guessed it: the bar). He was chatting with a blonde girl Julie didn't recognize, and she was too riled up to notice the dirty look she sent in Julie's direction. "Get your ass over here so I can murder you!"

Luke mumbled something to the blonde girl, who disappointedly walked away. " _Jesus_ , what did I do now?"

"I think some of the food may have been bad," she explained, pointedly ignoring his attitude; she casted a look around. "Some guests have been in the restrooms throwing up."

Luke's mouth dropped into an o. "Oh, this isn't good."

"No. It's not," she replied, wiping some sweat off her brow. God, it had been a stressful night. "And it's _your_ fault!"

Luke clenched his jaw. "Oh my _god_ — how?"

"You didn't confirm our menu so they made whatever they had! If you had gotten it right, no one would be sick right now!"

He glared at her. "Julie, I'm only going to say this _one_ more time. Just like before, I didn't make this! This is not on me!"

"Oh my _god_ — what did I do to deserve you as a partner in this wedding?"

He looked like he was getting ready to retaliate, but closed his mouth and studied the brunette instead. "Uh — you're starting to look a little bit pale, Julie," Luke observed, a frown pulling on his lips. "Are you feeling alright?"

Julie shoved his hand away when it tried to feel her forehead. "What? I'm fine. Get your hand away from me before I break it. And stop changing the subject!"

Luke rolled his eyes and persisted; he felt her forehead anyway. "You're really hot," Julie raised an eyebrow and Luke smirked, "relax — not like that. Are you feeling alright?"

"Am I feeling alright?" Julie repeated and Luke instantly regretted asking. "Oh right, let's see. I've been stressing over this night for weeks, and all I seem to be doing is picking up after _you_! Can you at least meet me ha —"

Her words got cut off instantly by the wave of nausea that came over her. Her hands flew to her stomach; she could feel her mouth watering and she knew what was coming next.

"Oh, I'm going to _kill_ you, Patterson," she hissed to him before she booked it to the washroom. The grooms got their own private bathroom (thank the lord) because she quickly found herself on her knees and emptying out the contents of her stomach.

It was absolutely awful and she could literally feel the tears leaking from her eyes and down her face, through no effort of her own. All the strength left her body and she couldn't seem to lift herself off the floor. She heard the door open (she didn't exactly have time to lock it in her haste) and someone cleared their throat behind her.

"Are you okay?"

It was Luke, because of course, it was. Of course he would be there to see her at her worst, and even more so, when it was his fault (or at least Julie thought so; she would blame him until the grave).

"No, I'm not okay!" She snapped before throwing up again. Of course luck would have it that she chose the tainted meal, of _fucking_ course. And it didn't give her any satisfaction to know that Luke did not choose the same meal as her.

She heard his sigh from across the tiny room and the shuffle of his feet. She was about to warn him to stay away unless he wanted her to throw up on him (purposely or not, she wasn't sure yet), but then she felt his cold hands on the back of her neck. He was lifting her curls out of her face and out of the danger zone.

"What are you doing?" She mumbled, unabashedly leaning against the toilet. She was completely aware of how many germs were probably on this, but she didn't have the energy to hold onto herself.

Luke let go of her hair for a moment to shrug off his suit jacket. He placed it in between Julie and the toilet and left it hanging so that she could place it under her knees if she wanted to. "I'm not leaving you like this. Whether you like it or not, I'm staying."

He squatted down beside her and pulled her hair back again. "This is all your fault," she muttered brokenly.

"You're right, it's all my fault," he coaxed in a comforting voice. She was well aware he was just trying to please her at this point, but she'll take it.

Julie could feel her mouth watering once again. "I hate you so much right now, Patterson," was all she was able to say before she started puking once again.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do, babe," he reassured in an amused voice. He started rubbing her back in an attempt to make her situation a tiny bit better; he wasn't sure it helped, but Julie was cute and for some reason, he'd actually started loving when she yelled at him (which happened to be often).

When she was done, she unconsciously slumped back against him. "Don't call me that, you insufferable prat."

Luke barked out a laugh; even at her worst, she could still find it in herself to insult him. "Alright _Julie_ , what's the plan? I think you should go up to your room and rest."

As part of the wedding party, they each had a hotel room located above the ballrooms. It came in handy for many reasons, and this definitely happened to be one of them.

"But the —"

"Alex and Willie can handle their own wedding rehearsal without you," he cut in pointedly, "I'm taking you upstairs. Stop arguing."

She allowed him to help her to her feet, muttering a quiet, "never," under her breath. Luke didn't mention how she was leaning onto him for support as they walked through the room; she would probably slap him if he did.

"Jules! There you are!" Alex exclaimed upon seeing the duo attempting to exit the ballroom. "What's going on?" Reggie and Willie trailed behind him and quickly made their presence obvious.

Alex eyed Luke's arm around Julie's waist and shot his best friend a smirk.

"Why is everyone dropping like flies?" Reggie asked, thoroughly confused.

"Food poisoning," Luke replied with ease, "Julie here is also a victim."

Reggie gasped. "Oh shit Julie, do you need anything? 'Cause I can go—"

"Seems like Luke is already taking really good care of the situation, Reg," Alex interrupted with a smirk.

Luke rolled his eyes. "No, it's alright. I got this," he answered quickly, hardly giving Julie a chance to even open her mouth. She looked up at him for a quick second, debating if she should argue with him or not. "You guys need to enjoy your night. I'll take care of her."

Alex was thrilled his two best friends were finally getting along for once. "Okay, but call us if you need anything."

"I will," Julie nodded, "I'm really sorry guys, I wanted tonight to be perfect."

Willie shook his head, ruffling the top of Julie's head. "You did an amazing job, Jules. It _is_ perfect. Now you just make sure you're feeling better so you're good to go for tomorrow."

"Okay," Julie smiled at the trio, "have a good night. I love you guys."

"We love you too, babe," Alex replied softly, then set his sights on Luke. His signature smirk overtook his facial features and Luke was already rolling his eyes. "Now Luke, you better take good care of my girl here. No funny business."

Luke shot him a wink. "You got it, bro."

"Ugh, I am right here, you neanderthal," Julie rolled her eyes, making a move to pull away from his embrace altogether.

Luke didn't allow that and moved with her. "Have a goodnight lovebirds! And remember, separate rooms tonight! I won't have you two breaking any traditions! Oh, and you too Reggie. Be responsible and all that shit."

Reggie replied by flipping him the bird.

* * *

The elevator ride to Julie's room was quiet. Julie was just trying not to throw up at the motion sickness from the elevator itself. Upon entering her room, she went straight for the bathroom to take a shower and change. Luke took this opportunity to sneak away and buy some gingerale from the vending machine. He also went downstairs and charmed the kitchen staff to give him some saltine crackers. He may or may not have guilted them into it considering, it was partly their fault she was poisoned. By the time he got back, he managed to find some cheesy romcom on the television and made himself at home on her bed.

When Julie exited the bathroom, she was dressed in leggings and a New York University hoodie. Her brown curls were now up in a bun and there was a scowl on her face, but Luke thought she had never looked better.

"Well, don't you look like an adorable mess?"

Those were the words that actually came out of his mouth, and Julie was not appreciative. She only rolled her eyes but climbed into her bed beside him.

"I brought these for you," he mentioned, motioning to the crackers and bottle. "They should help you feel better."

Julie opted for the drink first; she honestly wasn't in the mood to eat right now. "Thanks," she hummed, taking a sip of the fizzy drink. She noted that his suit jacket was now draped over the only chair in the room and his tie was loosened, but still around his neck. He had unbuttoned the top few buttons of his dress shirt and abandoned his dress shoes at the foot of her bed. His hair was tousled and messy, as if he'd been actively running his fingers through it.

Honestly, it was a sight to behold.

She distracted herself by watching the movie that was playing on tv. She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her head as he stared. "Why are you looking at me?" She asked, turning to face him. He didn't look embarrassed in the slightest.

"I can't look at you?" He replied in a questioning tone.

"No," Julie commanded, returning her attention to the tv screen.

"Why don't you like me?"

Julie turned to him with a confused expression. "What?"

"I've never gotten a warm vibe from you. You don't act the same around me like you do with Reggie and Alex," he explained.

Julie actively avoided eye contact. "We've just never really clicked."

"You've never given us the chance to," he fired back instantly.

Julie sent him an exasperated look. "What are you trying to do, Luke?"

"Alright, listen," he huffed, turning his body to face her. "All you've done today is yell at me and I have no idea why, but I'm into it somehow."

Julie's eyebrows raised into her hairline.

"This might sound stupid, but I just think — I don't know, maybe there could be something here?"

Julie was beyond confused, but not totally put off. It was no surprise that he was unbelievably attractive and an overall decent guy (when he wanted to be), but he had just seen her puke her guts out a mere twenty minutes ago?

"Are you — are you trying to date me or something?" She blurted unconsciously. "Because you just saw me throw up like twenty minutes ago and I feel like that's enough to make anyone run in the opposite direction."

Luke's lips pulled up into an adorable smirk. "I've definitely seen worse," he replied, "and if this is going to work, I want to know every part of you."

"Even _that_ part?"

Luke laughed, "even that part, Julie."

"Alright, well. I'm waiting."

Luke's eyebrows furrowed together. "Waiting for what?"

"If you want to date me Patterson, you better man up and ask me out on a date."

His lips stretched into a smile. "Julie, would you like to get dinner with me next week?"

She returned his smile. "Yeah, I would."

They found themselves staring into each other's eyes. Luke was captivated by her melting brown eyes, which kept darting around his face nervously. When they dropped to his lips, he unconsciously started leaning in.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked quietly.

Julie only nodded.

"I brushed my teeth, by the way," she blurted without thinking. Luke paused his ministrations and quirked an eyebrow. "Sorry, I just thought I should mention that considering I was puking my guts o—"

Luke interrupted her by pressing his lips softly against her own. She instantly quieted down, enjoying the way he felt against her skin.

"God Julie, you talk _so_ much," he whispered against her lips. "Luckily, I know just the way to fix that."

**Author's Note:**

> thoughts???
> 
> was a bit unsure about this one bc it's a little out of my usual, but i hope it was cute enough
> 
> p.s. sorry if there are any spelling/grammar mistakes!!
> 
> comments and kudos are always appreciated :)
> 
> stay safe everyone!!


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